Menino, Hennigan face off in final stretch

Yawu Miller

According to Thomas Menino’s supporters, Boston’s mayor has pumped more than $100 million into development projects in Roxbury, assembled a diverse staff that has made City Hall more accessible to people of color and tackled tough issues that other mayors have shied from like education reform.

According to mayoral challenger Maura Hennigan’s supporters, Menino has run the city with little accountability to the neighborhoods he serves, done little to improve the city’s schools and — in a city that is more than 50 percent people of color — assembled an administration that has no Latinos heading a major department.

On November 8, Boston voters will decide whom they believe. And if a recent Boston Globe/CBS 4 poll is correct, voters will overwhelmingly vote for Menino. Even in the African American community, support for the mayor remains strong.

“The folks I talk to talk about how people like Menino,” said Horace Small, executive director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods. “You ask why and they can’t point to anything specific. They just like him because he shows up.”

Small, who is backing Hennigan, acknowledges that black voters are appreciative of Menino’s efforts to redevelop the Blue Hill Avenue corridor and renovate major office buildings in Dudley Square — commitments of tens of millions of dollars in federal and city funding.

But Small says he thinks the city would benefit from a changing of the guard every eight-or-so-years.

“I just think at some point, the creativity, the substance, the forward thinking you need to create a progressive society just stops,” he said. “At some point there needs to be a whole set of fresh ideas.”

As for fresh ideas, Hennigan says she plans to establish a city services hotline with a 311 number, if elected, that would make city government more accessible.

She told the Banner that she would also make city records available to all citizens.

“Public information really is public, she said. “In this administration, they hide information. If you want public information, even if you work for the city, you have to go through all kinds of red tape.”

Hennigan’s emphasis on public records comes on the heels of newsmedia criticism that the administration would not release police department statistics on shootings in the run-up to the November 8 election. While the call may win her friends in the media, however, it may not be enough to sway voters.

Hennigan has picked up significant endorsements from the black community, including former state Rep. Mel King and the Black Political Task Force.

Menino has walked away with the lion’s share of endorsements, including a who’s-who of black ministers and prominent activists in the black community including Veterans Benefits Clearinghouse Executive Director Ralph Cooper, Dudley Square Main Streets Director Joyce Stanley and Banner Publisher Melvin Miller.

Menino also benefits from having the largest political organization in the city — city workers. When he was appointed acting mayor in 1993, he quickly consolidated control over the city’s political machinery, consolidating his hold on the mayor’s seat and on politics in Boston.

Without the power of incumbency and the ability to dole out tens of millions in federal funds, Hennigan has nowhere near the ability to secure the endorsements Menino has.

Hennigan’s criticism of the lack of Latinos in leadership positions may have gained her some purchase in the Latino community.

“You would hope all of the city’s leadership would look at what the demographics of the city are so that folks who make up every part of the community have a role to play in how the city is governed,” said veteran community activist Jose Masso. “I think people in the Latino community are looking for much more. People would be supportive of a Latino being appointed a department head.”

But, as Masso notes, that discontent may not translate into votes.

“Will it be enough to make a difference? We’ll find out on election day,” he said.